Renault Agriam
}} An Illumian summoner possessed by a devil of Baator, unwillingly bound in service of the Iron City of Dis. Apparently once maintained a relationship with Sonia Baines, the exact nature of which is unknown. Vacillates between cold, calculating strategy and rampant bloodlust, responsible for much of the carnage on the Deadlands. Tales From the Flock spoilers follow. Description For the most part, Renault appears as an ordinary Illumian -- humanlike in features and proportions, Aesh and Vaul symbols circling his head -- save for a touch of the otherworldly, evident in his too-lanky build and unusual hair and eye color, a gift of his generations-long descendance from an outcast nereid. Dark circles beneath his eyes indicate a lack of sleep, but with proper self-care, he could easily charm most with looks alone -- the textbook picture of a friendly scholar, if a bit haunted. ...From the chest up, anyway. You'd almost miss that he has four arms and hooves. The summoner's lower body is almost wholly like that of a demonic satyr in appearance, with cloven hooves and shaggy fur the same color as his hair, and what little skin the fur leaves exposed is greyish and mottled with black. His muscled arms -- two his own, two arising from the demonic conversion -- are free of the pale fur, but end in sharpened talons, each typically carrying a wicked scimitar into battle. A sweeping, prehensile tail, not unlike that of a monkey, trails behind him. His only clothes are the remains of a devil officer's breastplate and a broad leather belt with scabbards for his swords, as most of the rest of his body is masked by the obscuring fur. History Renault grew up as the pampered heir to a minor noble family, struggling to stay afloat in the ever-shifting Vanian economy, whose name and house were both in danger of collapse by the time he came of age. To save his house's reputation, the young summoner was promised to another Illumian noble family in an arranged marriage which would effectively merge their businesses and ensure their survival, though Renault himself was uncomfortable with the notion. He never actually met his betrothed -- to this day, he merely knows her name and a few superficial details of her life, having communicated only through a few letters before the cataclysms struck. In order to train him to inherit the family business -- a small shipper and supplier of magical goods, Agriam Acquisitions, later subsumed on the Flock by the Whitefire Corporation -- he was sent to receive an education at the original Stratham College, where he defied his family's wishes by opting to study planar languages and ancient summoning magic. Unwilling to suffer the embarrassment of what would appear to be their favored son's dropping out, they grudgingly let him finish his course of education. Rather, they would have. The Flock came for Vanius two years after his enrollment, and the devilish hordes with it -- caught far away from the rescue platforms, Renault and a contingent of students out on an expedition were set upon by the invading forces; while the others were killed, the Illumian suffered a comparatively merciful but crippling leg wound, cursing the devils in their native Infernal as he fell. Intrigued at his knowledge of the language of Baator, one particular devil -- known only as the Puppeteer, a servant of Dispater -- dragged Renault back to the Iron City of Dis, where he suffered a dark ritual that cut his connection with his eidolon. Forced into servitude in Dis's military forces, the mild-mannered Illumian now serves as the Puppeteer's summoner and host on the Material Plane, struggling for dominance over his own body as he unwillingly slaughters the fleeing denizens of Martyrial. The devil delights in the emotional rift within Renault he created, feeding off the summoner's despair. Personality When Renault is in control of his mind, he seems mild-mannered, thoughtful, and articulate, preferring words to actions wherever possible -- sometimes frustratingly so, often refusing to take a solid opinion on a given subject or get involved in a confrontation. His rebellions against his family are subtle for this reason; The Puppeteer's periods of dominance do away with this trait almost entirely; while still articulate and thoughtful, the devil-Illumian hybrid is malevolently so, often poetically narrating the horrific deaths he subjects his victims to as they happen. He takes a grim amusement in watching a trapped opponent squirm, specifically engineering his movement on the battlefield to ensure no route of escape. Category:Flock Category:Non-Player Characters Category:Tales From the Flock